A Shrine Maiden's Farewell
by Shadow1176
Summary: <html><head></head>A short back story piece, of Sanae leaving the World of Reality behind to enter Gensokyo.</html>


A/N: When the emotions set in, it affects my writing in various ways. Whether it be the most recent wave of depression or hate with family, or even more light hearted humor, all events in my life affect what a person writes, how they write it, even how long it takes. That's all I wanted to say.

"What a freak."

With those few words, directed towards me everyday, my thoughts continue to run rampant, all consuming as they were.

I walk down these hallways, with small whispers amongst the chatter of a high school.

"What a weird hair ornament-"

"Is that a snake accessory? Ugh, disgusting-"

"And that frog, bleh-"

"Why can't she just be normal-"

"I know right-"

All this time, all these words, such was the ignorance of humanity.

My job as a Shrine Maiden keeps me occupied for long amounts of time, and therefore makes me unavailable for the many events that my school holds on a regular basis. With parties, festivals, even dances being commonplace for so much of the year, it wasn't often that I could attend any of them, or even fit in.

Walking into the first period of the day, I hear even more whispers behind, giggles directed at me.

"Hey look, it's the Shrine Maiden of Justice~"

"Hah, what a joke."

My face burning in humiliation and rage, I think back to the various manga and light novels that I'm so fond of. I think about how girls like them were always the coolest of the bunch, but once the main character shows up, she becomes the new cool girl, even if she's still really shy.

But reality offered no such dreams, no such fantasy.

There was only the simple, hard truth that I'm a nerd, and they are popular.

As the first bell rings, they giggle a bit more before the teacher enters, our physics teacher in fact. A suave, and fairly young teacher, he was in his early 20s, and all the girls swooned over him. How he got his master's degree, I haven't the faintest idea considering the ease and moronic qualities of his questions, but I digress.

As he talks in this charismatic accent that makes me want to puke in disgust, several dreamy sighs accompany his speech as he grins at the girls, who squeal wiith joy while I simply groan in exasperation, before he talks about handing back our tests.

Groans of annoyance rise up from the class, as the first desks receive the tests before we hand them back.

As I receive mine from a kind boy in front of me, he whispers, "I think someone may be writing unkind words on your test."

As he turns around to check his own, I give him my thanks.

Looking down at the paper, I can see several comments on the front, with words like, "NERD" and "LOSER" scribbled onto the front with haste, as mocking laughter breaks out from the classroom's front.

I ignore them in lieu of reading the words, before looking at my grade. Next to it was yet another word of "Nerd", but to my delight, I can see that I scored 100%, just like I always did. Once I looked over onto the open ended though another story unfolds.

I can see contradictions everywhere, from whether it be about how my phrasing could be better or how my topics were off even when they were perfectly logical. Sighing, knowing that this happened often, I folded up my test before opting to watch the outside as the teacher began his lesson on physics that were literally just ramblings and offered no help to me.

The beautiful Autumn leaves shifted their colors, changing from green to red to brown to black, as each one remained or fell from their respective trees. Some shriveled up on the sidewalks, some of them were decomposed into the earth, and many of them were swept away in the wind to new places.

So much like myself, yet unlike myself, just being dragged along with this path that we call life, to suffer the atmosphere of my school and dealing with the worst of teachers.

I think being a leaf would be fun. To be able to see the world in all of its beauty from so high or low in the air, to simply watch life pass you by as your worries surmount to none, such an existence could be an enlightening experience.

As the teacher continued rambling, I can't help but ponder just what it was that I was doing. What I was doing in school, what I was doing in life, even why I was alive.

* * *

><p>As the bell rung to signal the end of class, the teacher called out that we had no homework, to which the students cheered for, talking about how the teacher so nice and how awesome he was.<p>

As I left quickly to avoid having to deal with so many other leaving the classroom, I get a call on my cell phone. Stepping outside for a moment to take it, I answer with, "Moshi moshi? Ah, right now? Already? Well, I'm in class- eh? It's important that I be there now? I'll be over right away. Ja ne."

Closing my phone, the boy from earlier walks by and says, "Erm, do you have to go do something?"

I respond, "Yeah, I have to go help the head priest at the Shrine with something important. Could you tell the teachers?"

With a kind smile, he says, "Of course. Good luck!"

A few tears fall from my eyes, as he asks alarmed, "What's wrong?"

In a rare show of affection, I walk forward and give him a hug, as he freezes in shock. With my head on his right shoulder, I whisper, "Even if it's in a whisper, at least one word... I want to tell you, Thank You..."

As I take off running at a quick pace with his face still in confusion, I only lift my hand in farewell as I disappear from sight.

Noticing a weight on his shoulder, the boy notices a small ofuda with the words "Good Luck" inscribed onto it. As he attaches it to his arm as a band, he smiles, saying, "Goodbye, friend."

As the school fades into the distance from my speed, I fly towards the Shrine in a hurry, because of what the head priest told me. Not a single human saw me as I weaved a path unseen through the area.

Arriving on scene, I pant while saying, "It's time?"

"Indeed."

"It's time to go."

A duo of the Shrine's gods stand before me, as I stand up straight, looking out at the city before me, and all of its beauty.

The trains rumbling along, the chatter of so many different people, both native and foreigners, the various antics of the world.

A world that I no longer belonged in.

A world that my gods could hardly live in anymore, with its supply of faith fading away with the new belief of science.

A smile lights my face, as I chant an incantation, as the duo of gods behind me concentrate their powers. The both of them ask,

"Are you sure about this?"

"You don't have to do this, Sanae."

I only smile in response, with only a single tar rolling down my cheek as I say, "I'm sure, Kanako-Sama, Suwako-Sama. It's time to leave this world behind."

As I take one last look at the city during the incantation, I burn the memory of the city into my mind, as I leave behind a final message as the entire Shrine disappears in a flash of light.

"Farewell, World of Reality."

* * *

><p><em>Several months later...<em>

"Reimu-San! The harvest gods sent over some tributes from their harvest!"

"Perfect! Set them down over there!"

"Hai!"

Wiping my forehead, I look upon the scene at the Hakurei Shrine.

As Reimu directed efforts while scolding Marisa for some trouble that she'd gotten herself into, with the latter only rubbing the back of her head sheepishly, with various others walking around setting up preparations for the incoming festival, I smile as I observe the scene, my heart lighter than it had been for for a long time.

A brief vision of the Outer World, as the resident of Gensokyo called it, of the city I burned into my memory surfaced for a moment, someone called my name.

Kanako-Sama was calling me over, as I shook my head, and with a smile, I walk on to where the gathering of guests were, my demeanor friendly as I greet various others with joy.

As Marisa rambles on about some story about cherry blossoms, and Reimu interjects at certain moments, while my goddesses banter about, I have but one thought.

_Life is good._


End file.
